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Commonwealth Assembly
Not to be confused with the Tholian Assembly. The Grand Assembly of the Imperial Commonwealth of Planets, more commonly known as the Commonwealth Assembly or simply The Assembly, is the primary legislative body of the Imperial Commonwealth of Planets. The Assembly operates under a unicameral system, and is comprised of one representative from each member state in the Commonwealth. Most gatherings of the legislature are held inside the Chamber of Conference on Floor One of the Palace of Unity, which itself is located within the city of Rome on Terra. Organization In accordance with the Commonwealth Charter, each session of the Assembly is expected to be presided over by the Emperor of Solvada, who would bring proposals to the floor for discussion, maintain and keep order during meetings, and set policies and agendas for the Assembly to deliberate upon. During meetings, the Emperor normally stands at a podium near the north wall while the representatives sit in seats arranged in rising rows of twenty. Those sitting on the right side from the Emperor are normally part of the majority party or coalition representing the government, while those on the left make up the opposition party or coalition. If the Emperor is unable to personally attend, arrangements are usually made to have his image and voice be broadcasted within the Chamber via holographic projection and subspace communication. If he should be completely out of contact and unable to preside over any specific meeting, a Proconsul pro tempore is then voted upon by the attending representatives to act in the Emperor's place for the duration of that specific meeting only. Only those recognized by the Emperor or Proconsul pro tempore to speak could officially address the Assembly, and they would normally do so from the speaker's floor, located in the center of the room between two sets of seats for those attending. Representatives are also permitted access to computer terminals at their work stations, which they could use to silently contact one another or those outside the chambers, as well as pressing specific color-coded buttons on each terminal to indicate a desire to address the Assembly, or to cast votes on proposed legislation. The Commonwealth Assembly regularly conducts its business during sessions that are convened once every six months, with four-week intervals for each meeting excluding emergency sessions. The Commonwealth Charter dictates that all representatives must be present at the commencement of a new session in order to participate in future meetings of the Assembly for that session; those who are not present would have to wait until the current session expires and a new one is convened. Election or appointment of a representative to the Assembly is determined by each member state. The Vulcan High Command, for instance, determines its representative by having him or her be nominated by the head of the High Command, and then confirmed by the High Council. The Andorian Kingdom's representative is determined by which political party should hold the majority of seats in the Royal Council at the time, while Betazed's representative is directly elected by popular democratic referendum in normal circumstances. The Commonwealth Assembly conducts much of its business by dividing itself into numerous committees with jurisdiction over specific areas of importance to the Commonwealth; the Security Council, for instance, has jurisdiction over areas of Commonwealth internal security. Membership in a committee is determined by the Emperor, who nominates a representative for a committee according to their personal judgement, after which the Assembly will either confirm or deny their appointment with a majority vote. Some of the committees, such as the Security and Judiciary Councils, are permanent, while others are created on an as-needed basis; the representatives from the four founding member states are automatically appointed to the permanent committees. During committee sessions, members of the committee can usually speak without having to be recognized by the committee chair; committee sessions are commonly presided over by the appointed chair of the committee rather than the Emperor, though the Emperor is able to assume the role of chair for any committee of his choosing if he should see it necessary and proper to do so. Though the Emperor is able to consult with each committee for advice, he is not expected to solicit the active participation of the appropriate committee in determining executive policies; this marks a stark contrast from the Federation Council, wherein the legislative committees were often highly involved in the executive's decision-making, thus resulting in a far stronger integration of powers compared to the Commonwealth. Category:Imperial Commonwealth of Planets Category:Organizations